The Pittsburgh Steelers had a gameplan when they traveled to Atlanta to take on the Falcons in Week 1. Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith wanted QB Justin Fields to avoid the middle of the field so the Falcons’ defensive playmakers in the secondary wouldn’t wreck the game like Steelers OLB T.J. Watt did.
And the Steelers won, 18-10. Fields did what he needed to on offense to help the Steelers win, but the offense failed to find the endzone. Is that sustainable? Former NFL QB Cam Newton thinks it might be.
“I saw Justin Fields throw 17 of 23, not a lot of yards,” Newton said on Thursday’s episode of 4th&1 with Cam Newton. “He didn’t need a lot of yards… Had no turnovers and 57 rushing yards. See, that’s the thing when I’m talking about winning formula. A guy like Justin Fields don’t need to throw the ball 40-plus times a game. Keep him clean.”
It was an effective formula if not exciting. Fields only threw for 156 yards, but he avoided the big mistake. He completed almost 74 percent of his passes and did not throw an interception. He made the plays needed to keep drives alive and set up AFC Special Teams Player of the Week K Chris Boswell. One of the biggest plays Fields made came in the dying seconds of the first half. He rolled left before coming back to his right to find WR George Pickens for a 41-yard gain to set up a Boswell field goal.
Fields’ performance was not dominant, but it’s all the Steelers needed to win their season opener on the road. Keep the ball on offense and let T.J. Watt and the rest of the defense wreck the Falcons’ offensive game plan. It’s the perfect recipe for a road win.
And a big part of why it worked was Fields’ athleticism. He averaged 4.1 yards per rush with 14 carries for 57 yards. He converted a big third down with his legs, too. Newton thinks Fields’ athleticism is perfect for big moments.
“In some very contentious situations where we got to put the game away, now you got the whole playbook,” Newton said. “Play action, get the quarterback out on the edge, let him dish and distribute… That’s a very hard place to be in as a defensive play-caller because you don’t know what the f*** the damn team can damn do.”
Floral language aside, Newton has a good point. Defensive coordinators cannot afford to ignore Fields’ athleticism in important situations late in the game. He can keep the ball, move around to buy time, or throw it from the pocket. The more options an offense has, the worse time the defense has.
Would Steelers fans love to see Fields have a 300-plus passing yard day with multiple passing touchdowns? Absolutely. And I’m sure the Steelers coaching staff would love to see it, too. However, the Steelers are not in a situation where they have to play that game to win.
The overarching question is whether Fields can have that kind of day. Because there will come a time when the Steelers need to score more than 18 points to win a game. One look at the schedule will tell you that.
But the Steelers proved that at least for Week 1, it’s a winning formula. And hopefully, for Fields and the Steelers, the touchdowns will come. If that happens over the next two weeks when the Steelers are reportedly planning to start Fields, he may just prove that he’s the starting quarterback of the present and the future in Pittsburgh.
